News

CHRISTMAS DINNERS FOR FLOOD VICTIMS "Christmas 1997 will be an important, emotion-filled time for the people affected by this year's flooding and harsh winter in the upper Midwest," said the Rev. Craig A. Boehlke, coordinator for the Upper Midwest region of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "For some communities...

ELCA WOMEN CELEBRATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the women's organization of the ELCA, invited women of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate 10 years of "grace and mercy." Women of the ELCA was established when women from three former Lutheran church bodies gathered for...

AUGSBURG FORTRESS FOCUS ON CHILDREN The Board of Trustees of Augsburg Fortress Publishers put special emphasis on children's ministries at its meeting Oct. 9-11 in Minneapolis. Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, is the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The board discussed "the place of children in our society...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (ELCA) -- If closer relations between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are not possible on the national level, regional and local Lutheran bodies should explore ways of working together, said The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted a plan which could supply well-trained leaders for the church into the indefinite future. Board members approved a design document detailing how the Fund for Leaders in Mission will be implemented. The...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Formula of Agreement approved at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Churchwide Assembly this summer presents a "unique and historical opportunity" for the expansion of mission outreach in the United States and Caribbean, according to a document called, "Ecumenical Shared Congregations." The board of the ELCA's...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is writing to President Bill Clinton and members of Congress, urging them to support a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that will allow certain undocumented aliens to become lawful immigrants. Anderson's...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "I hope you have bullet-proof vests," Rembert Weakland, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Milwaukee, told the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting here Oct. 2-7. He praised the ELCA for undertaking a process toward a social statement on economic life. The bishops discussed...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America meeting here Oct. 2-7 recommended that the ELCA Church Council invite The Episcopal Church to take part in preparation of a proposal for full communion between the churches. The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop, presented...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "I spent the first day of autumn breathing in dust and mold. There is dust in the air and a heavy smell of mold and mildew. But there is something else -- the sweet smell of fresh-cut lumber, the new smell of wallboard and spackling, the sounds...

RELIEF WORKERS GRABBED IN CHECHNYA Two relief workers were taken prisoner by armed and masked men near the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia on Sept. 20. The two men work for Action by Churches Together (ACT) and International Orthodox Christian Charities. They are Dimitri Petrov and Dimitri Piankowsky, both citizens...

AGALIECE WESTBROOK MILLER AWARD GOES TO SANDRA TANKSLEY The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America honored Sandra M. Tanksley, 40, Chicago, with the Agaliece Westbrook Miller Award. The award was presented Sept. 15. Tanksley was honored for work against racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia and homophobia. Tanksley has been on the staff...

ELCA SEEKS HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR Thomas P. Vaaler will continue to serve as interim director of the Department for Human Resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to the Rev. Robert N. Bacher, ELCA executive for administration. In August the ELCA Church Council elected Aaron Dean, a mental...

LUTHERAN COMMUNICATORS GATHER Communication professionals from three Lutheran church bodies gathered in Appleton, Wis., Sept. 11-14 to share ideas and stories at the 1997 Lutheran Communicator's Conference. Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits society based in Appleton, hosted the event which brought together more than 90 writers, publishers,...

COMPUTER PROJECTS THE WORD FOR THE DEAF As the Rev. Jenny Bogard preaches the sermon at Holy Apostle's Lutheran Church, Hickory Hills, Ill., a computer driven display will project her words for those who cannot hear her voice. The system will premiere Sunday, Oct. 5, according to the Rev. Dayton...

DROUGHT IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA A drought of unprecedented severity has taken hold in Papua New Guinea, a nation in a tropical region close to the equator, according the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Division for Global Mission. The ELCA...

CHRISTMAS HOPE FOR UPPER MIDWEST FLOOD VICTIMS Members of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, N.D., hope to brighten the homes of victims of the 1997 Red River Valley Flood this Christmas. The church will collect and distribute hand-crafted or purchased Christmas ornaments that they call "Symbols of Faith." St....

ELCA YOUTH DISTRIBUTE $342,000 Young people who took part in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's 1997 Youth Gathering gave $342,000 to the closing worship offering. The event brought 37,000 Lutherans to New Orleans, July 23-27. The offering has been divided between domestic and global ministries. The Rio Grande Valley...

SOMALIA STILL NEEDS HELP While Somalia has dropped from the world's headlines its population remains in critical need of continuing humanitarian assistance. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides assistance through Action by Churches Together (ACT). Somalia still has no established legal government. Despite the fact that the overall security...

ACT RESPONDS TO FERRY DISASTER Action by Churches Together (ACT) has provided $25,000 to aid families affected by the Sept. 8 ferry boat disaster off Haiti. A diesel-powered ferry, arriving at Montrouis, capsized and sank. Of the estimated 276 passengers, only about 60 were able to swim to shore. The...